28 



MUSSEL FAUNA OF THE KANKAKEE BASIN. 



those on the down-river side, which had been caught by these same 

 sands, were dead, another striking testimony of the effect of a 

 shifting bottom on the mussel fauna. 



All the luteolus and piistulosa were infested with Atax^ one pus- 

 tulosa yielding 61 of the adult parasites. The luteolus also con- 

 tained a few C otylapsis ^' the other species were free. 



The two A. grandis and the single S. complanata are worthy of 

 note in view of the rarity of the species in the river. 



This is the last station in the swamp region of the Kankakee, and 

 it may be well to give a brief summary of the conditions prevalent 

 there. 



This length of the undredged portion of the river from English 

 Lake to the State line is variously estimated by different authori- 

 ties. A conservative estimate would make it at least 100 miles, 

 and it is practically one continuous mussel bed for the entire distance. 

 There are places where the mussels are thicker than elsewhere, but 

 there is hardly a spot where search will not reveal at least some 

 species. 



We have here again an ideal breeding ground for mussels, similar 

 to the Yellow Kiver from Plymouth to Ober, but at least five times as 

 large. The natural conditions are even better here than they were 

 in the Yellow River; there is the same kind of a bottom, lime and 

 food enough in the water, a good current the whole distance, and 

 plenty of small fish to distribute the glochidia. 



Then there is in addition the great swamp reservoir to regulate the 

 supply of water, the organic material derived from the swamp vege- 

 tation to serve as food, and the enforced seclusion of the region to 

 obviate any disturbing influences. There are several valuable species 

 of mussels, like rectus^ pustulosa^ and coccinea^ which were not 

 common in the Yellow Eiver, but which would add greatly to the 

 value of the mussel product; and finally we find the mussels here 

 infested with the same pearl and baroque producing parasites. 



Instead, therefore, of expending large sums of money in an arti- 

 ficial drainage system, thereby entirely destroying the natural re- 

 sources of the region, making it of no possible use as a game or 

 fishing resort, and annihilating its rich mussel fauna, all for the sake 

 of reclaiming a few hundred acres of land that have not proved to 

 be worth much, it would seem to be far more profitable to cultivate 

 the resources already in existence. 



Nature has herself clearly indicated the kind of products suited to 

 the region. Now that man has learned how to handle one of the 

 most valuable of those products, mussel shells, it would require very 

 little effort or expense to convert the native mussel fauna into a rich 

 source of revenue. The L. rectus^ which has white nacre, called the 

 "white sand shell" by the mussel fishermen, could be easily intro- 



